Tilt

Tea, a drink loved by cultures around the world, a drink of comfort and tradition.

Yet for some, because of age or illness, just pouring a cup of tea can seem like the biggest of challenges. This inability to complete even the simplest of every day tasks only adds to the fear that they are loosing control over their life. Products already exist to aid impaired users with pouring from a kettle or teapot but they are sterile in design and pigeon-hole the user into the stigma of using a ‘medical product’. Tilt looks to turn this on its head.

Existing teapot tipping products are sterile in design and pigeon-hole the user into the stigma of using a ‘medical product’. There is also no middle ground for users who may not require a full tipping aid but still want that little extra help.

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Due to the offset handle of the teapot the strain on the users wrist is greatly increased due to turning force. This not only puts strain on the wrist but also requires a very strong grip. This may seem simple for the average person but if muscle strength has been limited by illness or age this can make the item almost impossible to carry.

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Simple weight rigs were constructed in order to observe how differently placed weights and handle locations affected the way users carried and used the teapot.

From these observations it was noted that users always positioned the weight directly below their hand where the weight naturally settled. From this observation a tilting handle variant was developed, allowing the user to carry and pour in the most natural way possible. From these observations the design for Tilt was developed.

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The Tilt teapot improves on the age old design of the teapot by using a pivoted handle. When carrying and pouring the handle will always stay above the weight of the water, removing the effects of turning force and making a much more comfortable pour. This creates a design that is not only striking in appearance but also much easier to use for those who are less-abled.